From Addict to Architect of His Own Life: Blake's Sobriety Story

In this heartfelt and inspiring episode, Blake shares his extraordinary journey from addiction and crime to becoming a successful entrepreneur and community leader. Blake reflects on his struggles with alcoholism and drug addiction, his turning point at St. Matthew's House, and the invaluable lessons he learned from various mentors, including Brian Roland. Through hard work, faith, and the support of his loved ones, Blake has turned his life around and is now dedicated to helping others struggling with addiction. This episode delves deep into the power of faith, the importance of a strong support network, and the redemptive journey that led Blake to become a beacon of hope in his community.

00:00 Lead In
03:25 Path to Sobriety
05:03 Hitting Rock Bottom
12:17 Turning Point in Detox
16:40 Rebuilding Life and Career
24:28 Support Networks and Staying Sober
35:55 Finding Positivity in Adversity
36:12 Overcoming a Troubled Past
38:56 Building Relationships and Community
44:03 Support Systems and Influences
51:28 Balancing Life and Work
56:47 Fun and Personal Interests
01:04:26 Upcoming Events and Final Thoughts

Transcript

[00:00:00] He did the, I think it was the Naples Illustrated first. Yeah. And he's like, I want to do your podcast. I wanna be the first, I want you to be the first person that does an interview with me. Yeah. Other than the magazine, you know, I've already granted them the first. Right. But yeah, it was cool. I mean, that was like, that was like my, at that time, my podcast, I learned that my podcast was doing nothing really, but my YouTube channel was doing great.

Yeah. But I was still doing them and I was just honored that he wanted to do that with Yeah. You know, he, he was ready to come and talk. Yeah. And you could see the chemistry between the two of you that, uh, that you have a deep friendship. You know, I could see the bond and the way he spoke of you, um, and his relationship with you and, and that event together.

And just, I think you had a big part of his. Growth, you know, his going from, you know, taking that leap of faith into entrepreneurship where he had a steady, good income and, you know, working at a good restaurant and just took that. Yeah. And he, um, leap, [00:01:00] he was my mentor too, on a lot of different things. He taught me how to be, um, gosh, he taught me how to be a professional.

Mm. Honestly, he taught me how to be professional. He taught me how to really take my showmanship to the stage, so to speak. Hmm. Whether the stage is a magazine shoot, whether the stage is a dinner, whether the stage is an Instagram post, that every detail had to be. Professional. Mm-hmm. You know, 'cause I saw people, we were doing ins, I was doing all his social media before.

Social media was really a thing. If you saw pictures of Crave back in 2000 and, let's see, I got sober 2011, so 2014, 2000, 13,014. If you saw anything on Instagram or Facebook with Crave, it was my most likely my pictures. Mm-hmm. Or the photographers that hired photographers. Okay. So, and we were watching people put out, I mean obviously other caterers and stuff, putting out pictures.

They were like, one of them was blurry and the heads were chopped off of people. [00:02:00] And we were like, man, if that's what you are putting out to the public, I can only imagine what you're doing in your kitchen. You know what I mean? Like, that to me shows that you, you don't care what people see. Mm. Right. And so, Brian like taught me, like every detail, every per perfect picture needs to be perfect.

Mm. So I would like take all the pictures off the event, do the event, work the event, clean up, go home. And then I would, uh. Go home at night and edit all my pictures and then post 'em for the next day. So I learned a lot about social media and that was at the beginning of it all really. 'cause that didn't happen that way.

Social media wasn't easy. I was like one of the only people on Instagram, I think in the whole company at that time. 2014. Yeah. Not that Instagram hadn't been around for a little bit, but Instagram wasn't the Instagram that it is now. Yes. You know, it, it, most people were on Facebook, right? Um, I think there was another, there was another social media site people were using for videos that was kind of popular.

Yeah. At the time it was just videos. You could scroll up. Yeah. It was pre TikTok. It was, um, something like that. The company before [00:03:00] that, uh, it was like a Green Vine or Vine? Vine. Vine. That's what it was. So people were on Vine. There was a handful of people on Vine. Yeah. But it was mostly Facebook and then Instagram started to take off and then, you know, then of course it's just gone nuts after that.

Yeah. Yeah. So you were, you were all things back then to him too. You were doing a little bit of everything. Yeah. Yeah. Um. But all that stuff. All that stuff, you know, I look back every one of those things that I got to do. Like I, I, I'm a big, I'm a big believer in on God and Christ, but, and I see the, the, the plan, I see the journey, the road.

He made me travel. Yeah. So all those things I had to do. I had to go, had to get sober, first of all to go to St. Matthew's house. Yeah. After St. Matthew's house, I had to go to Brian to get training on how to be something. Then from Brian, I had to leave and, you know, take the leap of faith and start my own business.

And from there I had to meet a guy in construction who I still, my mentor to this day, who I used to cook for with Brian. Right? He was one of Brian's clients who now owns a huge [00:04:00] construction company, right? Mm-hmm. So I had to, I had to start working for him. He hired me to do jobs, you know, and then he became my mentor.

I mean, for like finance and business and construction, and how to do things in construction. Took me from where I was doing. Small projects, you know, maybe I wanna say 10 to $30,000 to million dollar projects. I mean, he, he told me, you know, taught, showed me the game on how to elevate and be high-end luxury remodel and build.

Mm. You know, so every one of those steps along the way, and then all that social media journey and all that stuff where I learned how to market his Brian's business and I learned how to market St. Matthew's business. I learned how to market my own business, start my own business, and built my business based off of social media.

Yeah. And then went into, uh, um, you know, what I'm doing now, this is like, that journey had to be, I had to travel that path Yeah. To get where I am right now, where I could do all this different stuff and see that. So you said it was God's plan, but you know, you went through some rough patches there and [00:05:00] how did you get to the rough patch, and then how did you get from there?

Yeah. Well, obviously I got to St. Matthew's house because of, um. Being an alcoholic and a drug addict for, from the time I was 15, till the time I was 30. Um, went to the David Lawrence Center for Treatment, went to a 28 day program. Um, they introduced me to 12 step programs and volunteering and service work and places to go after you leave there.

And one of the places that was so integrated in David Lawrence was the St. Matthew's House. And I didn't live at the St. Matthew's house, but I stayed, uh, there volunteering. So I didn't have a job. I had never really worked other than for my family and my family business, um, which was basically my dad given me some money to, you know, kind of survive, you know, so I didn't have a job.

When I got outta treatment, I didn't have a job and I didn't really want a job. I wanted to focus on staying sober because I had quit drinking and drugging. [00:06:00] A hundred times and then fallen flat on my face again. So they said this time, like we, you know, I heard this time, they've said it to me a lot of times, but I heard this time like, really dive into these programs to help yourself.

And so I knew if I went and hung out with my old friends, I was doomed, you know? So I went to the St. Matthew's house and I met some people that were going to 12 step meetings that worked at St. Matthew's house. And I just hung out there and I learned how to cook. I kind of knew how to cook for myself. I like, like cooking.

My dad taught me how to cook. Uh, he was a big, like, gourmet chef, TV show watcher. So we would always, we would always try, you know, you know how to cook duck and how, you know, like all the different things. And you know, we made all these amazing like holiday meals and stuff. So, um, I had a love for food. And so these two chefs that were in, uh, sobriety and, and in these 12 step programs, uh, invited me to come to St.

Matt's for lunch. And I came for lunch one time and they're like, man, you should, you should hang out here with us. It's safe here, you know? And I [00:07:00] did. I hung out and I stayed and I hung out there every single day that I could, um, until they offered me a job. Mm. And then I took a job there, which was cool because I was doing it for free.

I was volunteering, and, uh, and then I was like, well, you know, 12 bucks an hour sounds great. I'd be doing it. I was willing to do it for free. Mm-hmm. Now you're gonna pay me $12 an hour. So excited to make $12 an hour. Um, so I, I worked 20 hours a week at $12 an hour, and then I volunteered 20 hours a week for free.

And that's how I got hired at St. Math's House. Yeah. But you were 15 years of drinking and drugging hard drinking and drugging. I was, um, I was like, um, career criminal, worse than just drinking and drugging. I made my money and my addictions were paid for by. You know, selling drugs and being, um, and I can say that now because all the cops are my friends.

Uh, today, that's a different story. Uh, all the narcotics guys are buddies of mine now, [00:08:00] so it's cool. Um, you know, and, uh, the undersheriff, Jim Bloom's a good friend of mine today, so great guy. What an awesome human he is. Sheriff Rambos, good friend. You know, um, how the tables have turned, you know, from getting sober.

Yeah. Um, but yeah, so I mean, I was a hardcore criminal. I really was in and outta jails from the time that I was 15 years old until the time that I was 30 multiple arrests arrest for interstate trafficking and I mean big stuff, uh, Tennessee and federal charges. I had a bunch of crap, man, bunch, bunch of stupid, stupid stuff.

I took, took that lifestyle to the extreme. So it wasn't just alcohol and drugs, it was the, the criminal world was that. I liked that, you know, that, that underworld scene. And I, I got wrapped up in it pretty bad. So. Hitting rock bottom, getting sober, going to David Lawrence Center, volunteering at St. Matt's house was a huge culture shock for someone like me.

Well, with the bottom, like how did you know it was the bottom? Like what clicked for you that this is, this is time now. Well, I was facing, uh, [00:09:00] six years in prison again. You know, I was facing time, hard time again. Um, and they gave me the, out, they told me I could go to drug court, um, and I could, you know, reduce my sentence and all this kind of stuff.

And, uh, I was like, okay, you know what? I want to do it. Like I was 30 years old, you know, I, I, I was 30 when all this happened and I was like, man, I think I've had enough of this crap. I really have. I, I know better. My conscious is telling me better. I need to do something different. And so I, um, said, okay, I'll go into a drug court.

And they said, okay, fine. So I went in and met, um, judge Martin, love Judge Martin. Um, and uh, she said, okay, cool. I just need you to be sober next week. And I was like, no problem. Six years of prison over my head. I'll be sober next week. So what I did was went home right and said, I'm not drinking, I'm not drugging until next Tuesday.

And that lasted about four days until the shakes and the uncomfortableness got so bad I had to drink. Hmm. And so I went in and she goes, are you sober? And I said, [00:10:00] no. I said, I tried and I couldn't. Mm-hmm. She goes, okay, that's fine, but we get it. We people struggle with that next week. I want you to be, I I really need you next week.

So of course did the same thing. All this, you know, self, I can do this myself. Mm-hmm. Went home, white knuckled four or five days, come Sunday, come Monday is, I'm so uncomfortable, I'm wound up and drink. So I drink and I go in on Tuesday and I was like, Hey, I can't, I can't do this. You know, she goes, that's fine.

She says, we're going on a two week break. There was a week off of drug court or something. She goes, you got two weeks the next Tuesday. If you can't come in here sober. You know, offers off the table. So I had two weeks, which you give an alcoholic my type two weeks to get sober, I'm gonna get sober the day before.

Mm-hmm. So I went crazy for two weeks and then tried to sober up a couple days before and didn't work. Mm. And I met my, um, attorney on the [00:11:00] steps of the courthouse and I told him, I said, I'm not even going up there. Just tell her to gimme my time and catch me when you can. And that was my mindset. Catch me.

I know I'm gonna run from the law until they catch me, and then I'll go do my prison time. And that was my mindset. That was it. It wasn't a big aha moment. It wasn't a, you know, you know, car accident or anything crazy like that. It was, I know that I can't do this anymore. So I left the courthouse that day and, um, never went up to see her.

You left? No. Told my attorney said, give I, I expected to get my, my full sentence because I told them, you know. I can't get sober. Uh, so my attorney went up and told them, you know, Hey, he's, he's saying that he doesn't, you know, he can't do this. He can't get sober to go ahead and convert his time, you know, or whatever.

And unbeknownst to me, judge Martin is a saint. Um, and we're good friends today as well. Mm-hmm. Um, she called David Lawrence Center and, you know, made sure that they would have a bed for me in detox [00:12:00] and I didn't know that. So I went off on a little bit of a run, and then David Lawrence called me like, I don't know, 24 hours later and was like, Hey, your bed's ready.

And I was like, what? You know, not expecting that. And then went in and, uh, my bed was ready for me, so I went in and dried out. And that was to detox? Yeah. Yeah. Dried out and went to the 28 day program and then started volunteering at St. Matt's. And you went right from. After detox, then they put, they had a bed for you in the 28 day program or the at, at Dave Lawrence.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So I was in detox for 10 days. So September 8th, which was a couple days ago. Yeah. 2011 I went into detox. Mm. Um, for 10 days. I woke up on September 11th. I went, I went in on the eighth and I woke up on the 11th. That tells you a little bit of how I drank and drunk. Wow. Wow. Yeah.

Wow. Yeah. Yeah. Woke up on September 11th. It was a 10 year anniversary. Yep. 2011. And I remember waking up and seeing the TV and there was people talking about September 11th, which is [00:13:00] tomorrow. Yeah. Oh wow. And, uh, 14 years ago. So, um, and I kind of came out of my fog, um, on the 15th. So that's what I remember.

Uh, on the 15th, they took me over to treatment, and that's my sobriety date, September 15th, 2011. Hmm. So that's when I consider myself sober because that's when I really like came to. Yeah. You know, w was there something on that day when you got there that you, you knew you had surrendered or was there, it's funny how it works.

Your brain is like, deals with trauma in certain ways. Right. I don't remember a lot of detox. 'cause I said it was super foggy. Um, but I do remember a gentleman, a group of people came in and they asked him questions and they told some stories and different, different stuff like that from a, from a 12 step group.

Um, and I went into the bathroom. I didn't remember this till after I was sober for a while. [00:14:00] 'cause it just, my brain was too foggy at that time. Yeah. But they asked some questions and I went into the bathroom and I looked myself in the mirror and they, I, I trying to remember what the question was. Oh, are you done?

The guy said, are you done? Mm. Go and look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself, are you done? Mm. And I went into the bathroom. And then, I don't know if you've ever been in a treatment facility, but they're very safe to drop my father off. Yeah. I have. Yeah. Yeah. Like they don't have real glass mirrors.

Yeah. People can't break them and cut themselves. Like they're all, they're, they're institutionally protected, you know? Yeah. Sort of like a semis, shiny piece of metal, right? Mm-hmm. Um, you could kind of see your reflection. It's not a real mirror. I know, I know what, what I'm talking, you what I'm saying.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Uh, and I looked myself in the mirror and my, you know, everything was kind of, it's kind of a foggy look. And, uh, I asked myself that question, and for the first time, and probably, I don't know, a long time, maybe 15 years, maybe even longer, I cried and that was it. And I was like, I think that was my [00:15:00] turning point.

Mm-hmm. Because I had to find, I had discovered that after being sober for a while. Mm-hmm. I had to find that memory. Yeah. And I remembered, I was like, oh. I remember it was in looking in that mirror, I asked myself that question. Yeah. You know, am I done? And I, and I knew that I was, I think at that point I knew that I was, but I had no idea what it was gonna take to, to stay sober and not go back to that vice that had been so comfortable for so long.

Yeah. Now you, you get to your, was it 28 day program? Yeah. You get to your 28th day and you gotta go out in the world. What's, what's, what was that like? Uh, super uncomfortable. Super uncomfortable. 'cause I'm used to being around, you know, junkies and losers. That's what I was. So being in a detox where everybody's medicated and laying around, flopped out, that's like a normal, right?

Mm-hmm. And they took us into this, the next facility, right? Where you're, you gotta like, wear decent clothes and they're gonna teach, you know, there's classes and you gotta follow directions, you know? Um, [00:16:00] and then they take you out to 12 step meetings. Different ones. Hmm. You know, C-A-N-A-A-A, um, they take you to, they took this CA's, which ones?

Cocaine Anonymous. Oh, okay. Analogs Anonymous, um, what do you call it? Um, narcotics Anonymous. Mm-hmm. So, I mean, they take you to a variety of different ones. Yeah. So that all the different types of people can pick where they think is gonna be best for them to Yeah. To find their, their comfortability, Uhhuh.

Um, so yeah, that was, uh, that was quite, quite the experience. And then, you know, before you know it, you get kind of comfortable. You get used to it. You get to know a few people and you know, the, the stuff kind of wears off and the reality sets in. And 28 days is a long time, but not a long time at the same time.

Right. Yeah. You know, um, and that's when I went to St. Matt's and that's when I, right from there, you went to St. Matt's. I met two, these two, these two chefs, Eric and Kevin, um, were everywhere. Everywhere that, that they took us, those two guys were there. You know, and I was like, oh, these guys are kind of cool.

You know, they were just, they were fun. They were smoking cigs. They were like, you know, they were [00:17:00] just like normal guys. They seemed to be having a good time, you know, and, and, um, so they were like, man, you should join us. Like, come over to St. Matt's. I was like, this, this sobriety stuff can be fun. And they made it, they made it attractive.

So I went and started hanging out with those guys, and then I fell in love with the homeless shelter and giving back and service and, you know, um, and then I did that. I did that for two years actually. How did you keep your old life old friends away? How did you By hiding out in that homeless shelter?

Those, the people I ran with are not coming to a place where there's cops and. You know, security and that kind of stuff, you know. And it was funny, the longer I stayed there, the longer I worked there, the more of those people I would see get in trouble. The more those people I would see, you know, in passing, some of them came into the shelter 'cause they were homeless, you know what I mean?

Or Yeah. Got outta jail and had no place to go. So they stayed there for a few nights. Yeah. And the more I saw it, the more I became [00:18:00] almost disgusted with my own life before. Mm-hmm. The life I had before. And the people I saw, I was like, man, I want no part of that anymore. Wow. So like what happened in that bathroom that, that uh, aha moment or that, that surrender moment or that waking up moment definitely turned me towards the right path.

Because when I saw that kind of stuff and I saw the people from my past, I was like, man, I'm so glad I'm sober. Mm-hmm. And it just drove me to do more and do more and do more. And, you know, we kind of had like a almost immediate success when we started the St. Matthew's House Catering. I mean. Within months, we were on the cover of the newspaper and doing stuff with Brian Roland.

And, you know, it was just like one thing led to another. We were doing a fashion show and we were doing, I mean, we were doing some really fun stuff. Yeah. Like, almost immediately. And so that push of success, um, plus the, uh, um, you know, just being sober that first year being sober was, everything was new and exciting, [00:19:00] you know, so it was good.

And then of course, meeting Brian, and then Brian and I became friends and going to work. I, I was working for St. Matt's and then I, I turned in my resignation and gave it two week notice. And of course I got, you know, everyone was so happy to see me go mm-hmm. You know, and, you know, grow and be successful.

Mm-hmm. And then started working for Brian at Crave and his first year of business, you know, he did way more than he expected. Mm-hmm. You know, I remember him and I meeting at, um, I think we met at, we met at um, maybe a Starbucks or something. I don't remember. We met somewhere and then we met again and we were just talking about ideas.

And then I met him at Food and thought him and Nicole, and they're like, Hey, we really want you to, you know, come on board. And we made that decision and, you know, we had these plans and these ideas and these thoughts of what, and then like, I remember having our yearly reviews and we surpassed like everything you could have possibly imagined.

Mm-hmm. You know, the things we got to do working for celebrities and doing big events and, you [00:20:00] know, crave Culinary is probably the biggest catering company in southwest Florida. Yeah. It's been massive. Yeah. And so to be there in it's infancy, right? Yeah. And to be part of the creative, uh, meetings and driving in a direction where it was gonna do stuff differently because of Brian's leadership.

You know? Yeah. Brian has a way of entertaining and, and perfecting things and doing things that. Where quality matters and, and, you know, uh, production and it, it, it all has this, this way, you know? Yeah. And so fuck following him, and, and he has so many and has had so many great employees over the past years, you know, to help him to get where he is.

I think it's interesting that you, um, had all this, all these victories and success around you. You didn't even know your sober self was creating all that, like your sober self, the power of your sober self was. Attracting all this and creating all this. And that's where I believe God is, is the, I mean, I believe in God now.

I mean, my faith has grown enormously. You know, um, next Monday, [00:21:00] right, the 15th, I'll have 14 years of sobriety. So my faith has grown since, since all that, um, his hand has been in every single part of it. Mm-hmm. Right. His hand has been in every single part of it prior to me getting sober, but I couldn't see it.

Mm-hmm. Right. So him putting me in those places to grow and be instrumental in the creativity and all this stuff, and put Brian in my life and, and there's been so many other mentors as well, but all these different things, you know, they put and, and, and he put in my path so that I can learn and grow and to then become the person that sits here today.

You know, like I'm a firm, firm believer that every single one of those days I had to go through was, was handcrafted by my creator. Yeah. You know, so. Yeah. Uh, which is, which is awesome. You know, and then going from working at Crave, you know, and doing all that stuff and learning and meeting all the people I did there helped me start.

My business. I mean, I met my wife, she was working for Brian. She came in as an event planner for like the last year I worked there. She was an event planner and we were crossing paths at work and this, that, and the other thing. And [00:22:00] of course fell in love. And um, Brian, Nicole knew it. Like they didn't know it at first, but then they found out.

They kind of knew it. So, you know, that's part of our luck. Our little, uh, our little friendship joke is like, they helped create our, our marriage mm-hmm. And our success, you know? So And you have children? A child? We have one. We have one child. Yeah. How old? Yeah. Olivia six. Olivia six. Okay. Yeah, she's awesome.

My, how old is Remy? How old is, uh, I wanna say she's three, maybe four. Three or four. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Three, I believe. Almost four. So I'm horrible at stuff. What do you do when. Uh, life gets hard, you know, or when something doesn't go the way you're, you know, it's, it's not there. What, what's your, um, because I've, I've seen growing up in an alcoholic family and with my father, I've just seen him, you know, be his willpower ways, trying to do it all on his own.

And, you know, sailing, everything's good. And then, you know, I remember one time [00:23:00] Frank Sinatra died and that was his trigger. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I went over to the house and I was like, what are you doing? Was he Italian? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I get it. I mourn that day too, right?

I went to his house and, and I saw the, the absolute bottle out and I was like, dad, what are you, what are you doing? He said, Frank died. Frank, gotta have one for Frank. Yeah. Yeah. And just like in that instant, you know, just that one, people think it's. A weakness. People that have never experienced. Right. And there's two different types of people in my opinion.

I mean, I don't know if there's scientific facts, but, uh, when you cannot control your alcohol the way I feel an alcoholic, you know, can't I, I don't have the choice. You know, something like that triggers me. Mm-hmm. And then I'm off to the races, right? Mm-hmm. So sometimes it's success, sometimes it's failure, sometimes [00:24:00] it's, uh, disappointment.

Sometimes it is a birthday. You know what I mean? So like, yeah, basically anything can trigger me. Yeah. If I'm not treating. My alcoholism, you know? So basically that, that's my mindset about that. So I, I was taught early on, you know, that you have to have a support network. You can't do this by yourself.

Mm-hmm. That when you are feeling those type of ways, you have to reach out and talk about it and ask for help. Mm-hmm. And if you don't, you're putting yourself at risk to going back to that drink or that drug. Mm. And so that's the most important thing is that, that never losing track of that support network, you know?

Mm. And my support network has changed. I mean, it was a handful of people when I started and it's gotten bigger. It's gotten bigger. And now I'm surrounded by a whole new network of people. And the funny thing about it is like, not drinking is becoming a popular thing. It really is. Like biohacking and health and all this like, taking care of yourself self.

Yeah. And a lot of my friends who are normal drinkers, 'cause I'm, I'm in the, I'm in the public eye these days. [00:25:00] I'm all over the place. I'm traveling, I'm doing different things, big events. So. 85% of the people that I come across are what I would call normal people that don't, don't have a problem with alcohol or drugs.

And it just, but even half of them are like, ah, man, I just, I'm, I'm not drinking for two months. You know? Yeah. I feel so much better and yeah. You know, and or when I have a couple drinks I feel like crap and Yeah. You know, so it's funny how all that's got me to here and that, you know. I'm hanging out with people that are like either normal drinkers or like people who just don't drink, and yeah.

They're supportive that I'm sober and they get it. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like, all those people, they, they think it's awesome. Yeah. You know, and so it's become a thing now to not drink. It's actually a big, it's like, oh, you're not drinking. Yeah. Well, no one the, the way society's kind of formed and changed over the years.

No one's judgemental that way. No, not at all. No. You know, you used to be like, oh, come on, man. Have a drink. Yeah, yeah. Like, you know, say people say, I'm down drinking. It's like, oh, cool. And they don't bat an eye at it. It's not like, [00:26:00] come on man, come on. Yeah. There's no pressure like that anymore. You know?

People are just cool with it. Yeah. Like I, I actually just did a, um. I was hosting a beer tasting thing at seed to table on Monday night, and I was cost, of course I wasn't drinking, but I was getting people to try two different types of beer. Mm-hmm. One is brand new that's coming out, and then the other one has been around for a long time.

And so I was trying to get my friends that I know drink, and like half of 'em were like, no, I'm on a no drink thing, man. I'm like, come on, I need you guys. Yeah. This is where we're shooting today. I need you guys to caption this for me because so many people weren't drinking, you know? Yeah. It's one of those things, man, you know?

Yeah. And um, I think someone told me recently, there's a study that says that, uh, alcohol and liquor consumption is, is down. Yeah. And like dramatically shooting that. Yeah. Yeah. So, um, which is good. I mean, I think people, I think people are definitely in this phase of life are a lot more health conscious.

Yeah. Yeah. I find that, um, I, you know. I, I, I think [00:27:00] alcoholism or isms are in the genes in some format. You know, I had it coming to me or in my family. I know, I, I'm a believer in that. I definitely believe, like, you know, if you shake my family tree, a bunch of bottles and, uh, stuff fall out, you know what I mean?

Yeah. So it, it's definitely in my family. But then, then again, you got people, like, my sister has three or four beers, doesn't fa her. Yeah. You know what I mean? Yeah. Me, three or four beers, I'm off to Miami. You know what I mean? Right, right. Yeah. It's, it's a different story how it hits. Yeah. You know what I mean?

Yeah. Um, my mom, she might have one or two glasses of wine. My dad, hard liquor, you know. Yeah. Like, it just, so, uh, it, it really depends, you know? My grandparents on my dad's side didn't drink at all. Mm-hmm. Like at all. Yeah. My grandmother on my mom's side or my, you know, my, her mom like whatever she liked to drink, but, you know, four or five drinks put away, no big deal.

So. It's weird. It's a weird thing, man. Yeah. It's, it's one of those things, if you got it, you got it and you better know about it. Yeah. Because it, it, it, it can affect you. Um, and that's the biggest thing that I [00:28:00] feel today is I know, I know that's my problem. Hmm. And as long as I take care of it, it's not a problem.

How do you handle it for yourself when you see it in others and, you know, they're on that, that little something goes off inside you and you see that there's something there that, whether it's an employee, coworker, or somebody in life. Yeah. Well, obviously my first, my first instinct is to help what can I do to help?

What can I do to share my story? To help. But at the same time, I don't want to overstep my boundary as well, because I remember how people were when I was in my crazies. You try to come up and tell me, I need to stop doing something. You're gonna get the bad side of me. Mm. You know, I'm gonna tell you where to go and how to do it, you know?

Mm-hmm. So, um, I respect that. I will interject in the sense of letting them know where I am and who I am and how I am, and if they need help or whatever. If I, and if the time feels right, um, and people come to me a lot of times say, Hey man, I got a, I got a buddy or a friend, or I da da da da da da. Mm-hmm.

You know, and if, and if it's the right time or place, I'll jump in and try to [00:29:00] help, you know, so I remember vividly, um, you know, my father's struggles to get sober. Um, he would many times tell me, I'm, I'm ready. And I'd take him and drop. I remember dropping him off. There was a, um, a center in Fort Myers.

It's not there anymore. Uh, he was ready and we went up to go there. I drove him, which I was excited. He was gonna go into a program. And when we got there, they said, you know, there's, it's gonna be about a half hour before we can get you in here. It was nine 30 in the morning, 10 o'clock in the morning. Um.

And he started getting the shakes. Mm-hmm. And, uh, you know, I said, can you speed this up a little? We're waiting in the waiting room. Can you hurry this up? He's shaking and sorry, it's gonna be a little bit, she said, but there's a bar right across the street and maybe you should go there. And Yeah, we went, went across the street, you know, or two straight vodkas giant jumping down just to get the shakes gone.

I'm not laughing at him. Yeah, no, no, no. I get it. So, so we, we have a statement that says, [00:30:00] uh, we laugh at seemingly tragic things. Yeah. And why shouldn't we? Because we've got from under. Right. So that's not a laugh of at, that's a laugh of understanding. No, I get it. I get it. Yeah. I know you do. Taken people to a bar to hold them off before I got them into detox.

Yeah. You know, I, I know what that's like. I also know from having the shakes what it, what it's like. Yeah. But I also know the freedom and the blessing and the life that can be given when you make that decision to stop, you know? Yeah, yeah. Well, he had gone on multiple journeys and he, he was so. One time he was at the Willow and had no money and he snuck out and got a cab to drive him home.

And with no money, he talked the guy into taking him home. And, you know, he's been, he was in and out trying to do it many times. Yeah. Uh, and I'll never forget the, the most vivid time, and probably the one that stuck with him was, it was, uh, it was Thanksgiving Day and, uh, an employee of ours who was one of our senior leaders and extraordinary guy who was in [00:31:00] recovery and just, uh, was a tremendous inspiration because he was in a 12 step program and he just, just the way he was, was so inspirational to all of us.

And he had always said he wanted to help my dad, but when my dad was ready, yeah. So I called him up to say, Hey, Jerry, uh, dads ready. That's how they dad. That's what they teach us, man. Yeah. That's what they teach us. He was, he, I said, Jerry, he said, he said, I'm not the guy. I'll help your dad, but I'm not the guy.

He's not gonna listen to me the same way. He's gonna listen to a appear. Yeah. That's what he said. He said, but I'll get somebody, I'll call, somebody calls this guy who's on Marco Island putting the Turkey in the oven. The guy says, I'll be there in 40 minutes. He put the Turkey down, drove to my dad's house.

My dad's in North Naples and Vanderbilt Beach. Spent the next nine hours with my father. Yeah, man. That's what we do. What an incredible human. I'll just never forget that, that day, you know, just to see the human spirit like that. This guy doesn't even know my dad. Right. That's what we do though. So you ask what I, you ask what I do to stay sober or get through the hard times.

That's what I do. [00:32:00] Mm. When someone calls me and asks for help, because we're, we have that network, we have that network of people who know who we are and when they need us, we stop what we're doing and we go and my wife doesn't understand and my daughter doesn't understand. Daddy's going somewhere and is, you know, they don't understand because they're not one of us.

You understand? I can see the tears in your eye. Yeah. You understand That work keeps me sober. Mm-hmm. That nine hours with that person I've never met in their dirty, stinky apartment with. Bottles and pizza boxes everywhere is where I go sit and do God's work. Mm-hmm. That's what keeps me sober. That's what keeps me through the hard times, because there's nothing that's hard today, really.

There's not, I can lose $200,000. I can get in an argument with my wife, I can fight with my employees. You know, I can lose a huge project, all types of that kind of stuff. None of that is as bad as it was the day before I got sober. [00:33:00] Wow. In that dark, dark, dark, dark place. So when I have the mindset like that, when I can look back and say, is it as bad as that day before I got sober?

No way. My problems today are so luxurious. Hmm. My dad dying, my grandfather dying, my grandmother dying. You know, my, you name it. They were actually more like blessings, you know, because I got to be there. Sober, I got to be the pillar of my family. People could lean on me and trust that I was there to help and, and sort out all the stuff that needed to be sorted out when, when those things happen, you know, be able to be there.

Um, you know, like on my dad's deathbed and said him, and, you know, I cooked him his last meal. Mm-hmm. Right. And then I said, um, you know, I gotta go home. I, I gotta go back to work. Brian gave me a few days off, you know? Yeah. I said, but I got, I gotta go back and work dad. You know? Yeah. And, uh, he said, uh, I want you to do two things.

I want you to take care of your mom and I want you to stay [00:34:00] sober. Mm-hmm. You become a better man than I ever could have dreamed you could be. Wow. And you've outdone me in a hundred thousand ways. Mm. Those are the last things he said to me. Mm-hmm. And I was only three years sober at that time. Wow. So that was a a lot for, in three years time for him to say all those things.

Yeah. You know, the person you look up to the most, the person you've tried as a son. Yeah. Right. You've tried to make this impression on your father that I'm. I'm, you know what? You thought I would be right? Yeah. Yeah. To get that on his deathbed and then he passed right after I left. Wow. So I think I drove home that day, fell asleep, went to work, and I got the call when I was, I was at, I remember I was at the office with Brian.

Mm-hmm. I got the call and I was like, I gotta go. I dad just passed. What a gift to your dad, but what a gift to your dad. But I knew he didn't wanna die in front of me. Like I learned that. Yeah. You know, and so it's cool he did on his terms. See? Was that the hardest thing you've ever gone through? No. Yeah.

It's the biggest blessing I've ever experienced. Oh, I get what you're talking about. So it's perception is how I look at it. I get it. Is that the worst [00:35:00] thing? Yeah. Heck no. I got to impress upon my dad three years of sobriety, so much so that he thought I had become better than what he ever could have imagined.

Yeah. He left me with some things I need to do. I need to take care of my mom. I need to stay sober. Right. Yeah. I got to cook him his last meal. Mm-hmm. And then I got to be there and close out all the business stuff that came with it. Yeah. You know, like all the crap that, you know, I, I got to be there to do that.

Yeah. You know, I got to be present. Yeah. Because if I was drinking and drugging, I would've been a wreck. Mm-hmm. I would've been a wreck. Yeah. You know, I would, I I probably wouldn't have been around. Who knows, you know? But the fact of the matter was that, that, that turned into one of the biggest blessings that I've ever experienced.

That's beautiful. You know, that's beautiful. Yeah. And I feel like that's what God does for us is, is change our perception when we're ready and he can take anything that's bad and spin it into gold if I'm willing to look at it from a different perspective. And that to me, is what I've learned. Getting to know Christ and getting [00:36:00] to know how to live, you know, differently, is that I can take any situation, I can find a bat in it.

Or I can spin it into gold and I can find the good in it. Yeah. Take something from it. Positive. Yeah. You know, uh, and so my sobriety is that, is that, that's my story. I took the worst thing you could ever imagine. Someone who destroyed their life and I mean, destroyed their life. If you would look at my rap sheet, if you look at the stuff that I did, the things that I got you, the people I hung around with, there's no way someone with my rap sheet should be in the places that I'm at.

Yeah. If you just looked at the, the facts, the data, you know? Yeah. Um, but God has a different plan. Mm-hmm. You know, and it's funny how things have progressed and all those things that are bad that are still on my record. You know, people look past now because of the person that I've become in the last 14 years.

Yeah. I remember applying for, um, my first country club, you know, an application for a country club. [00:37:00] And my, uh, we got called, they asked me a couple questions, you know, and I, and I answered 'em honestly, you know, um, so they found things in my background they wanted to know, but we just answered 'em. And then I got approved and I was like, wow, I got approved.

And then my general contractor's license, when I went to get my general contractor's license, they want to know every single thing. So I had my office print out, like all my stuff. And so I'm flipping through all these sheets and my wife is sitting next to me and she's gotta write 'em into the book, right?

Mm-hmm. So we send into the state for my license and she was looking at me like, 'cause of course I told my wife, you know, I did this, I did that, I did this, but. I didn't write down 29 things, 20, you know? Right. We had to flip through every one and write it down. 'cause if you don't put it down, I mean, it's like a, it's like an omission or you're trying to hide something, right?

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. So we're literally like going through these and she's like, you did what? And trying to pay. I'm like, oh no. But I didn't get charged. I know I wasn't found guilty, you know? I was like, allegedly. See, allegedly they said I did it, but they couldn't prove it. [00:38:00] Those cases were dropped, you know?

And she was like, what? It was just like one after another after another. And, and honestly it was crazy because I worked so hard to get my general contractor's license, and I heard from a couple of my mentors in general contracting, who had either taken the test four to five times and didn't pass it, or took 'em five or six times to pass it.

And then my biggest construction mentor didn't pass it and uses someone else's license, like, you know? Mm. This thing was like the hardest thing in the world to get is what people told me, you know? Yeah. Yeah. And I went in and took it, passed it. Three different tests on the first try. And I don't know how, I'm gonna be honest with you other than prayer.

I prayed my way through those. Mm. And passing the test, I guess was kind of the easy part. 'cause I went through this part. I'm thinking there's no way the state's given me with all this stuff. There's no way. Yeah. And we submitted the application and I remember, you know, when I got the email that we got it, I was like, holy crap.

Wow. They just handed me a general contractor's license with my record. Yeah. You know, um, I'm involved in politics a little bit, [00:39:00] um, a little bit. And, um. Senator Scott has become a friend of ours. Hmm. Uh, he was Governor Scott at the time, but through my working at St. Matthew's house, he volunteers at St.

Matthew's House on Thanksgiving and Christmas. He started going, or I started going to the same church he went to, unbeknownst to me, um, because a guy at St. Matt's invited me to the church. Well, we used to sit next to Rick and, and Ann at church and talk to them and be at Thanksgiving. We became friends.

We became, you know, when they were in a church, we talked to 'em, this, that and the other. And I was just cleaning out my drawer the other day. And, and I found a letter. He wrote me, you know, as governor to Blake, you know, if you ever need anything, you got one favor on me. Anything you need Senator or, um, governor Rick Scott.

Mm-hmm. You know, it's like holy crap. You know? And then being friends with, uh, law enforcement officers, you talk about my buddy Tim Ette, you know? Mm-hmm. Um, like I'm surrounded by all the people that I used to be afraid of and run from. And so my past no longer, no longer haunt me, you know? And now I'm in these circles where, [00:40:00] um.

Looked up at, I guess you would call it, you know, and people want me around and they want our businesses to show up and they want our presence to be there. And they, they, you know, invite us to do all these different things and support their organizations and, you know, so how does all that happen? How does all that happen?

You know? And it's, it's, God, it, it has to be God. Mm. Because like I said, if you look at, if you looked at those 29 documents that I had that were against me, you would say that person would never be a member of a country club. That person would never live in the neighborhood he lives in. That person would never, you know, have the, uh, respect.

Of the community, you know? Yeah. And, and, and be invited to the places that I'm, I'm getting invited to and get to, to, uh, to go, you know? So, uh, it's crazy. So much freedom. So much peace. So much. It's, it becomes infectious. I mean, hearing you share, it's like a, a way, and I can't take credit for it. I wish I could say it was all me, and I'm trying, I guess [00:41:00] what I'm trying to say is it's not me.

Yeah. That 29 page document with all that crap in it, that's me. Yeah. The person that sits here today is all God. Because, you know, obviously I had to do some footwork. Obviously I had to put in the day to day, but without him I couldn't have done it. Mm. Without him, I could not have done it. Like that is the sole reason I sit in this chair today.

Yeah. Yeah. Um, and I thank him in the morning and I think him at night, and I'm communicating with him throughout the day. Like it's a huge part of it is all. Yeah. You know, it's just, I try to be the best that I can be. You know, something was brought to my attention recently. Um. By a couple different people because of where I'm headed in these certain circles.

And it's funny, you just, you forget, you don't think about it. People said, oh, you, you said something or you did something. And I was like, that's like such a minor thing. And they're like, but no, people are looking at you differently. This people are looking for you to make those mistakes. Mm-hmm. So they want us, they want to, they want [00:42:00] to catch you slipping.

They wanna catch you, you know? And I was like, simple, like something silly like that, you know? And, and, uh, and I, I don't realize it sometimes that people are all eyes are on you, you know? Yeah. Um, so that, that little, I was, I was invited to a breakfast where people kind of pointed a few things out because certain people wanna make sure things are going in the right direction with myself and the business.

And uh, little things like that, I got friends in my corner that are willing to pull me aside and tell me, Hey, just wanna make sure that all this stuff is good because. Where you're going, you know? Mm-hmm. And, uh, remember that people are watching you. Mm-hmm. You know, so it's like another thing I gotta continue to do good and be, be on my best behavior and watch what I say, you know?

Yeah. Because to me, I'm just, I'm just, uh, I'm just, I'm the same guy I was 15 years ago, but in my, in my mind, sometimes I forget, you know, that people are looking to me as a community leader and all this other stuff and Yeah. You know, so it's like, [00:43:00] sometimes I gotta watch what I say when I'm in public.

Yeah. You know, you can, I can get wrapped up and chop it up with the guys and having a good time and say something that, you know, can be, can be harmful or hurtful to me or others. Does the desire ever creep into your head when you're wrong? No. I'm blessed, man. I, uh, God removed that desire 14 years ago.

Mm-hmm. I don't know how. You know, his power is great. And I think, uh, like I said, I was, I was open. I opened like 25 beers on Monday and passed them out. You know what I mean? And it, it just has, it has no power anymore. Wow. It has no, now I'm not saying if I drank it, if I drank it, I'm all, I'm, I'm gonna be screwed.

You know what I mean? Yeah. But like, just, no, I don't have any desire. There's, there's, it's lost all its luster, it's lost all its, uh, attraction, you know? Yeah. It's just, it's just something that people do that I don't do. Yeah. Yeah. That's a beautiful thing. But I'm around it, I'm around people who are struggling with it, so it's an, it's an eyeopener when you're around people that have a struggle with that kind of stuff.

I don't wanna do that. [00:44:00] I see where it would take me. Yeah. Yeah. So who's had the biggest influence on you in your, in your life? Mm. There's so many people. Um. Brian had a huge impact on me in that period of time. Mm-hmm. My buddy Chad had a massive impact on me in my construction building, my construction business.

Um, my buddy Patrick, uh, Dearborn, shout out to Dearborn, um, has had a huge impact on me, um, in the last four years. Mm-hmm. Him and I have been really doing a lot of stuff together. Mm-hmm. Um, and then, you know, my, my pastor, uh, massive impact on the way I see things from a Christian standpoint and a point of view, and how to try to live my life and know that I'm, I'm flawed and I'm, I'm imperfect and I'm gonna make a lot of mistakes, but as long as I own up to that and try to do better and continue to go in the direction of my [00:45:00] creator, I'm gonna be all right.

You know? So, um, my dad of course had a huge impact. My mom, my wife, um, my father-in-law, um. I, I mean, there's, there's a long, a long list. You have a good relationship with your father-in-law. Love my father-in-law. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's cool. Yeah. He, he is a saint, so he is, uh, a father of three girls and a husband of an amazing wife.

Hmm. So he lived in a sea of estrogen and, and just handles it with just ease. I don't know how he does it, so I look up to that. Yeah. Yeah. Plus he's very successful businessman, so I look up to that as well. Uhhuh. And he's probably one of, one of, one of the most humble guys I've ever met. Hmm. Absolutely.

One of the most humble people I've ever met. You had to ask him for his daughter's hand. I did. I did. And they had that same sheet of 29 thing things on it as well. Yeah, yeah. That was, uh, that was quite the experience. I remember we were at their house when we first started dating, and, uh, we had dated for a little bit.

They had met me a few times, and then [00:46:00] we went over to their house and, uh, um, her mom says, all right. We got something we need to talk about. And she grabs this folder with all these papers in it and all these mugshots and all this stuff. Right? Wow. Wow. And my wife's like, no, don't do it ma. This is great.

You know, like she's freaking out. I'm like, babe, it's cool. It's cool. There's nothing in there that I'm not, that I'm not, uh, that I'm ashamed of. Mm-hmm. Right? That stuff doesn't make me who I am today. That stuff is who I used to be, you know? And so I sat down with them and I said, you don't even need to open that folder up.

'cause I'm gonna tell you everything in there is true. Everything that's in those papers is true. It's me. I'm not gonna deny it. Mm-hmm. But that's who I used to be. And at that time I was five years sober. So, and I said, this is who I am today. And all I'm asking you is to judge me on who I am today, not who I was then.

And if I do anything that you think is not [00:47:00] suitable to your daughter's likings or your likings, or reminds you of this person in this folder, I'll gladly walk away. Hmm. And that's how that went. And we've been, we've been good ever since. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. That moment had to be, yeah. Like to be a fly on the wall for that.

But that's how, that's how I've, I've been taught to address this stuff was like, you know, that's not me. Mm. That was me 1000%. You look at my history, every single bit of it, I did. Every, I did it all plus more. That's the only the stuff they caught me on, you know? Yeah. Yeah. I don't talk about the stuff they didn't catch me on.

Yeah. So that's all the stuff they caught me doing, you know? Um, so yeah, I admit to all of that. I, I just remember meeting my wife's parents and, uh, I, I have always had this feeling that I was way outta her league anyway. Like I just thought she's way beyond me and I'm just so blessed and lucky to be in her world.

And when I had to meet her parents, I was terrified. 'cause she used to tell me, my mom's very religious, you know, my [00:48:00] mom's very religious, was scared the hell outta me growing up Italian Catholic, like. I haven't done that real well. I haven't been a very good Catholic who, who has Yeah. Right. Well, I certainly did a good job of beating myself up like, you don't have it.

She's gonna quiz me and I'm not gonna have the answers. And I dunno, the first thing that I should know. And, and when I met her, I had never met someone more loving, kind, and extraordinary in my life. I'd never seen somebody so unjudgmental. She just loved me the way I was, exactly the way I was with all the past that I thought was screwed up and wrong and yeah.

Outta whack and, and just, it was a level of love that I had never experienced, uh, from someone who I really needed their approval. I begged for it and it was, yeah, my wife and I have a great understanding. She knows who I was, she knows who I am, and then we talk about who I want to be all the time and where I'm trying to go.

Yeah. And she supports me. Uh, in every single bit of that. Yeah. She's the best. She's my homemaker. She makes sure the house is good and [00:49:00] clean and food is ready. And when I, when I come home, I can be dad and I can be husband and she lets me do all this crazy stuff. She lets me travel and do food reviews and create these crazy ideas and yeah, she supports 'em.

Yeah. It's crazy. She, she does man. And like until you've experienced that, like love that someone supports you no matter what you're doing. Yes. I'm like, babe, I got an idea. 'cause I'm an idea guy. I'm a creative. I'll be in the shower and like, I'm gonna start a YouTube channel. And she's okay. I believe you.

Yeah. You know, 'cause I do have a way of selling things. I do have, like, once I buy into myself, once I buy into the idea, I'm gonna do something. Yeah. I'm gonna do it. Yeah. And then I'm gonna do it better than, and then I can possibly try, you know, I'm, I'm not gonna like, I'm gonna go a hundred percent. Yeah.

She knows that. Like, if I say I'm starting a construction business, she's like, all right, let's go. She, she knows I'm gonna do it. Yeah. I'm gonna work 18 hours a day until it's successful, you know? Yeah. Um, and same thing, she, she's, you know, she always supports my crazy ideas. But when you have a partner like that, [00:50:00] that allows you to be more of, you get to be another level of yourself.

'cause she's there supporting you. Yeah. And you get to be more of you. It's, it's, that's partnership story. It's another thing though, it's like accountability. Like, it's like those friends that pull me aside and say, Hey man, just wanna check. Make sure everything's good. These are some things that were spoken about.

You, you know, tighten up. Yeah. You know, they're people that are tapping my shoulder and just reminded me to be a better person. Right. It's like the same thing with my wife. She's says, I'm okay with you doing this. Mm. So it's like she's okay with me. That puts like enough fire under my butt. I better make it.

Right. Right. My wife just said it's okay. Yeah. I can't disappoint her. Yes. I can't. I get it. I can't come home and say it failed. Mm. So now I'm gonna do it. Yeah. Like, her and I made a decision when I was working at Crave to start the handyman business. Mm-hmm. She helped me build the website. She created the logo.

She was the, she's the brains behind it. She's behind the brand. Mm-hmm. She made it look good. She's the one that makes things look professional, upscale. Don't say this. She'll, she's the one that tell me, don't say that stuff on camera. Mm-hmm. Do you know, don't do [00:51:00] that. Don't do this. Don't you know. Mm-hmm.

Wear's your shirt like that. Don't change the logo. You know, she's, she's all about the look. Yeah. Behind the scenes. She don't want no part of the, she don't want no part of the lights. Right. You know? Yeah, yeah, yeah. But she's supporting. A hundred thousand percent of it. Yeah. You know? Yeah. So I can't disappoint her.

And you're a better version of yourself because of That's what she's Oh, 1000%. Yeah. When you know someone's got your back, it helps. Yeah. You know, I can stick my neck out a little farther. Yeah. I'm willing to try something, you know, try something a little different. So your mother's alive, right? She is.

What's her name? Julie. How would she describe you? My mom is a trip man. My mom loves her son more than anything in the world. I think she loves her daughter too, don't get me wrong. But that, that son and mother relationship is a bond like no other. She supported me in the trenches, no matter how bad I was, no matter how strung out I was, if I needed 50 bucks, I'd have some sob story of, oh, I just needed to get by, or whatever it was.

She would always meet me and support me [00:52:00] when she knew it was probably killing me. Mm. She would still do it. Mm-hmm. And, uh, now she works for me. Oh, is that right? Yeah. Now she works for me. She couldn't be, she's the best employee I got. She's the biggest supporter. She's the, she sees the good in everything.

Mm. She doesn't see bad and stuff. Yeah, she's, well, that's a lie. She can be negative sometimes, but for the most part, yeah. She, she's, she's, she's the, she's, so she's probably the happiest. I know she's the biggest supporter, but she, she's the happiest, um, of everything that's going on. Yeah. Between my daughter and our family and our businesses and all the stuff.

And my wife and she's just, she, she couldn't be happier. How did your parents get from the Midwest you were born? Where were you born? In Champaign, Illinois. Illinois. House of Pain. How'd they get down here? Um, dad sold a couple businesses and was, um, just kind of going through some, probably midlife crisis stuff.

Honestly, looking back at it, uhhuh, think a little differently. Um, and came down here and got [00:53:00] into, um, insurance and real estate, stuff like that. Moved your family down here, you and your sister down here? Yeah. How old were you then? I was 15. In high school. Yeah. Tough time to move. Horrible. Yeah. That was probably a huge part of my demise.

Yeah. I was having, my demise was start up north too, but I was always crazy. Yeah. I was involved in, I was kind of involved in some gang stuff and stuff. I was starting to get involved in that kind of stuff up north. Yeah. I think they were doing it to get me away, but they brought me down to the, the mecca of crime.

Yeah, yeah. Of crime. Crime and drug trafficking, all types of stuff. And it was, their intentions were good. Right, right. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Yeah. Their intentions were good. Mm-hmm. You know, and I look back as, um, as a parent, as a sober person. Your parents do the best that they can in that moment.

Mm-hmm. It's not their fault. Yeah. They didn't make me do anything that I did. I did everything that I wanted to do because I wanted [00:54:00] to do it. There's no one to blame but myself. In that moment at 14 and 15, I was blaming them, I hate you, blah, blah, blah, blah. Mm-hmm. You brought me to this place. I don't know anybody.

I was a star football player. I was this, I was that. My girlfriend's up north and now she's dating somebody else. You know? Mm-hmm. It was, they were the enemy. Mm-hmm. It was just another reason. Mm-hmm. Another trigger. Yeah. To drink and drug the way I wanted to drink and drug. Yeah. Yeah. And to run from me, to hide from me.

Hide from growth and development and that kind of stuff. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. That's what alcohol and drugs really hindered was my growth and development. Mm-hmm. So you transferred to what high school down here, Barron? Three days. I went for three days and that was it. Found a group of people that go to the beach every day and started hanging out with them.

Mm.

I'm like, you gave me a car, a driver's license and a pass to the beach. I'm not going to school. Mm. Hardheaded. Yeah. [00:55:00] Well, you got so much. Well, look at me now. Yeah, that's what you got so much going on right now. Uh, you got, you got irons everywhere. Yeah. You got a lot of stuff happening right now. And which, uh, how do you, how do you divide up your time?

How do you, how do you know where to, um, focus time management? There is a lot going on. It was something that Brian taught us, man. Something I learned from him, um, was how to schedule my day. Like I told you, my routine, I'm up at four, prayer, meditation, coffee, by myself before the. Anybody wakes up. I do my cold plunge, my breathing, my grounding, my outside breath work, my biohacking stuff.

I hit the gym in the morning. I go to work Before I even do all that, the day before I've wrote out everything I need to do. I'm like, right now I gotta go. 'cause I gotta estimate in Bonita. But like I write it all out. I plan it all out. And then after my schedule, I route out, I write out a list of things that I need to accomplish.[00:56:00] 

And I used to get so bummed out if I couldn't accomplish the six things on my list or the nine things or whatever. Now I just accept my progress. Right? If I get four things scratched off of six, it's a good day. Yeah. Sometimes I get one. Yeah. And it is what it is. That schedule got changed. Stuff happened.

I get phone calls. There's a fire on a job, there's a water leak, there's, yeah. You know, and I've learned to adapt. But the structure of a planned day, I plan my day every single day. Yeah, I know. I got a food review at 1130 to three o'clock in Fort Myers. I know I gotta meet a client in Bonita. I know I gotta be on a job site.

I got an estimate in South Naples. I gotta be at a luncheon. I gotta be at a podcast. I mean, it's all Yeah, scheduled out. Good structure. Yeah, structure keeps you locked in. Yeah. That's what keeps me successful. Yeah. Really structure and discipline. I know. I know. You gotta get going soon. So I gonna cut to the For fun questions.

Fun questions. I like fun questions. Uh, if your life were a movie, what would the opening soundtrack be? Oh man. [00:57:00] If my life were a movie, geez, there's so many great ones.

I'll have to come back to that because I'm, there's so many songs and right now I'm drawing a blank, but there, there's, there's probably come up. Alright, well I'll let you soak in that one. Uh, what music's playing in your car while you're in the zone? Well, I listen to a lot of different things, so depends on if I'm, like, I'm at the gym.

I like, I like, like, uh, EDM like loud, fast trance, you know, house music. I like, like I spend a lot of time in clubs and stuff like that. Yeah. That was my job. So, yeah. Uh, so that brings me back to that time of life where I was really young and exciting and the party guy and everyone wanted me around and I was hanging out with celebrities and stuff.

So that's my gym music. My day-to-day music, uh, is either hip hop or country. One of the two. When I moved to Florida, that was the biggest thing that surprised me, that people listen to rap and country. Yeah. So up north it was, you were either like listening to rap [00:58:00] or you were a redneck. You Yeah. Those two didn't really mix down here.

They were like together. Right. So those two are, that's my kinda, like my daily. Um, and then like when I'm relaxing at the house with my wife, it's all old school Italian music. She's the Franks, the deans, the mm-hmm. You know, that, that whole, that whole genre. So that's like when I get home, my wife's cooking, there's Italian music playing in the background, or Rod Stewart or, you know, like just, you know, good, good for the soul music.

Yeah. Um, and then, yeah, that's kind of it. And any artist in the country genre or the EDM genre? 'cause I, I have a Spotify playlist for all our guests and I like to sprinkle it with whatever. Oh. I listen to a lot of, uh, Armand Van Buren when I'm in the gym. I listen to, um. Gosh, I mean, everybody that's popular in country, I mean, I can, any, any of 'em.

ILI like all of 'em, man. Yeah. Um, uh, hip hop. I'm old. I'm a, I'm an old school hip [00:59:00] hop, so I mean, I, I'm, I, I love the new guys, you know what I mean? Respect the, I respect the genre. I respect the, uh, the, the, the culture and the music. But I'm a nas, Jay-Z Biggie Tupac. Yeah. Uh, I'm an old school guy. Yeah. You know, uh, most deaf, um, the, you know, I like, I like the old stuff.

Good. I got something to fill up in the park in the Dr J in the playlist now. Okay. Yeah. How about books or podcasts? Books and podcasts. I read a ton of books. I mean, my bookshelves are full of entrepreneurial books. Um, uh, what is it? Napoleon Hill, uh, rich Dad, poor Dad. Um, uh, so many. Um, which one do you think had the biggest impact on you?

Oh my gosh. It was a book I read. Oh, what was the name of it? It was a really good book. Darn. It was weird. It's someone I have to get you the name. I'll, I'll, I'll [01:00:00] find it at the house. Right. Great. It, it's a book. Um, and you're told to read it. And then there's a part of the book that's got like nine or 11 pages and you're supposed to read it.

Part of the book tells you to read that part for like a hundred days in a row, and if you skip, you gotta start over. That book was like, it changed my life. Just one of those books. God, I can't remember the name of it. I'm drawing blanks today, but, but we'll have it up by the time you read. Yeah, yeah. I'll, I'll text it to you guys.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. What's your coffee order? Um, right now with pumpkin spice, half of the pumps, I don't like all that sweetness, but, uh, yeah, I'm a pumpkin spice guy. In the fall, I like all the holiday drinks. I'm a peppermint, you know, guy during Christmas time, uhhuh, but my standard drink is just coffee with a little bit of cream and a, and a toch of sugar.

Yeah. Yeah. Hm.

Well, this could go multiple ways if you weren't a builder, a podcaster, a media specialist, uh, and all those things. What do you think you'd be doing [01:01:00] today? I don't know. I mean, I'm, I, I'm, that's the beauty of life. I'm doing what I want to do. Yeah. You know, I just added this food review thing, so like, I'm getting quote unquote paid to eat, so that's phenomenal.

I love building homes and remodeling places, so I'm doing what I love. Yeah. And then I love doing my, my YouTube and my podcast stuff. So you couldn't ask me for, to, to paint a better picture for doing what I do. Yeah. You got it all covered. I love that. I, yeah. I It's genuine too. I could tell. Yeah. A hundred percent.

What's something, what's something about you that most people don't know but should Hmm.

Um, that most people don't know?

Um.

Or do you have a hidden talent? That's probably the, you know, that I, that I was always been an entertainer and that, that, that thing that's come up recently that I used to do magic when I was a kid for Yeah. For [01:02:00] shows. Yeah. You know, like a lot of people don't know that. Yeah. But I've always, I've always wanted to be, I've always wanted to entertain people, so Yeah.

I mean, I got, obviously it makes sense for what I do, but, um, yeah, that was a hidden talent and something I did when I was younger. Yeah. Yeah. I did talent shows, I played the drums and I did magic. Mm-hmm. So I would do magic first and then do the drums at the end. Oh really? Yeah. Yeah. You have two different shows.

I had two different, so I had two different talents. So on the talent shows, I'd wanna do my magic as one show. Yeah. And I had a partner that I did that with and then I wanted to do the drum. I wanted to be like, I was a drummer. Yeah. Yeah. I'm gonna do two random, quick. I, I almost feel like we have to make this a two-parter because I, I didn't get the other half of your life what's going on right now.

But we'll do two of these and then I'll, uh, got one more question for you. All right. All read 'em out loud and answer away.

Have you ever collected anything? If so, what? Um, [01:03:00] I collect watches. Hmm. I'm a watch guy. I like watches.

What is the long dis what is the longest distance you've ever walked or run? Uh, so I used to run track when I was a kid, so probably five miles. Five miles? Yeah. Very cool. Yeah, probably five miles. Good. Yeah. Yeah. Alright, last question. All right. What do you love about your life? Everything. Mm, everything.

My daughter, my wife, my businesses, my friends. I love everything about life. Mm. I wake up in the morning, thank God for the life that I've been given today. Hmm. Absolutely. Love every single bit of it. Mm-hmm. My friends, my family, um, opportunities to wake up every day and have an opportunity. Mm-hmm. Like, I was thanking God this morning, like, thank you, God.

I'm gonna go tell, tell my story to somebody. I don't know what they're gonna ask me, but I'm gonna go tell my story and I'm gonna go do [01:04:00] an estimate and I'm gonna go home. We have some countertops being delivered at my house. I mean, like, my life is great, you know, from where I was to where I am. There's, there's nothing but blessings.

Yeah. God bless you. Yeah. Yeah. I really appreciate you. I, I can see why Brian said I have to meet you. Yeah. It was real important to him. Yeah. I meet you and I, yeah. He's awesome man. I get, I get why. Totally. Yeah. Yeah. So I'm doing, um, um. Uh, shameless plug. I'm doing a business and mental health luncheon with the David Lawrence Center on September 25th.

If you don't have your tickets, go get your tickets. Um, so that's coming up soon. Yeah. Tell me about that. So, so that's, uh, it's a. It's, I'm a speaker at the, uh, it's just called, uh, voices of Recovery. Yeah. Dave Lawrence is doing it at the Naples Players. Okay. Um, so there's gonna be a group of four people, Scott Borges, the CEO, myself, um, Jen from Fashionistas and one other person, I can't remember.

I feel bad for that, but she's on the flyer as well. So we're all gonna speak about our businesses and our, um, [01:05:00] struggles and or our stories of how we got from, you know, where we are to where or where we were to where we are, and then a luncheon. So I'm one of the speakers, so I'm honored to do that. And then also I'm one of the sponsors for Brian's event.

Yeah. For the, uh, the, that's in October. Yeah, that's in October. Mm-hmm. So that's the, uh, from, from Tragedy to Triumph. So I'm one of the many great sponsors of that event as well. Obviously the David Lawrence Center plays a very special part in my heart. Yes. Because of me getting sober. I've been, um, an activist for them and, and I've done so many different community, uh, projects with them and helped support them in so many ways since I got sober.

Yeah. Well, I want you to know that whatever you're up to and whatever events you have like that, we're in full support and can support you in any way we can. Awesome. Whether it's in services, product, basket, 'cause it's any way we can to help. Yeah. Okay. Great. Help the event be successful. Whatever's good we can do that's Yeah.

Yeah. No, absolutely. We're an automatic yes. For whatever we can do for. Awesome. Yeah. Awesome. And also, uh, for your wife, what's your wife's name? Kristen. Kristen? Yeah. Uh, we have a day of pampering here for her too 'cause she Oh wow. [01:06:00] Women tend to like our pampering a little bit more than us guys do. Alright.

She love that she needs it, but yeah, it's, it's our, uh, a gift to you and she needs it. I put her through hell. We just remodeled our house. Well I figured that I gotta fire the contractor. I'm month and a half wait on my own house. Oh yeah. That's that. Good. You gotta go home every night. Countertops are going in day.

That's it. We're done babe. We're done. Yeah. Se send her my love and we will, I will Marina reach out to her to send her our blessing, you know, to get her set up for all the goodness. Awesome man. I appreciate brother. Yeah, thank you dude. It was great.